


-Chan

by paperclip_star



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: F/M, aggressive support, who let me make this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-12
Updated: 2018-02-12
Packaged: 2019-03-17 05:18:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13652211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paperclip_star/pseuds/paperclip_star
Summary: While Shuichi and Kaede hang out one day, Kaede accidentally calls him Saihara-chan. It's uncomfortable at first, since they aren't that close, but he eventually comes around to it.





	-Chan

“Mm, Saihara-chan, can you hand me that?” Kaede asked, not even looking up from her sheet music to point in the direction of a pen.

Shuichi’s hand went for the pen, fingers closing around it before he froze, “Did you just call me  _ -chan _ ?”

Her attention snapped up, eyes widening and cheeks pinkening, “D-Did I? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean--”

He handed her the pen quickly, laughing it off, “It’s not a big deal, Akamatsu-san, don’t think too much about it.”

She took the pen from him, smiling, “Alright. Thank you.”

Shuichi didn’t know how to take his own advice. Since Kaede had called him  _ -chan  _ he hadn’t stopped thinking about it. He found himself wandering around in a daze, her casual voice ringing in his ears.  _ Saihara-chan, Saihara-chan, Saihara- _ chan.

By dinner time it still vibrated in his mind when his eyes crossed Kaede, who was diligently eating the food Kirumi had prepared for them. He wondered if she had skipped lunch again.

She looked up from her plate, meeting his eyes and then tilting her head, “What is it, Saihara-kun? Do I have something on my face?”

_ -Kun. _

“Huh? No! Sorry, uh, you haven’t been forgetting to eat, have you?”

“ _ Pffft _ ,” she said, giving a laugh, “No way! I’ve been making sure to eat three meals a day--even when I’m working. What was that thing you told me about not eating…?” she looked up and away, trying to recall the memory.

“Oh, yeah. About how your body starts eating away at your muscle?”

She nodded once, “That’s a scary thought, so I’ve been making sure to eat.”

“Good.” he confirmed.

“Good,” she repeated, “Anyway, you shouldn’t worry about me, you should worry about you. You still haven’t been sleeping well, have you?”

“H-how can you tell?” he asked, surprised.

She gave a small laugh, reaching a hand out to brush her fingers under his eyes. He almost flinched out of her reach, but her touch was soft, “You have bags under your eyes.”

“Right,” he murmured.

She pulled her hand away, placing it in her lap again, “Can I ask what’s been keeping you up?”

He glanced around them. Those that were close were engaged in other conversations, but he wasn’t willing to take any chances, “Maybe… in another location?”

She surveyed the room quietly, then nodded, leaning in, “We could go on a walk after dinner?”

“That would be nice.”

They shared a look and a smile and Shuichi went to turn back to his meal when Kaede caught his attention, “Saihara-kun?”

What did he have to do to get her to say  _ -chan  _ again? Maybe he would have to call her it first?

“Yes, Akamatsu...” he drew out the last sound, weighing the options, “-san?”

He couldn’t do it.

She opened her mouth, then closed it, then opened it again, “Never mind.”

 

After dinner, they placed their plates in the dishwashing area and headed out, side by side, into the fading sun.

While they walked, Kaede talked mostly.

"For being imprisoned here, I wish I had more to complain about.” she said, “The weather is always nice, we get as many meals a day as we want, we have access to clothes and showers and bathrooms. We even have our own rooms. This place... Isn't as bad as it could be--I know that sounds absurd since we have to stay in a cage and  _ murder  _ each other, but I really think we could live here in peace if we had to."

"You have a lot of faith in everyone." Shuichi noted.

She looked confused, "Huh? Doesn't everyone?"

"Not really--well, I don’t think so, at least. I don't really have a lot of hope for us. Someone will want to get out of here enough to kill someone else I think." when Kaede didn't respond he added a soft, "Sorry."

She forced a laugh, "Don't be. Sometimes I get my hopes up and it doesn't make a lot of sense."

Shuichi didn't know what to say to that, so they walked through the garden aimlessly and quietly.

"I think we're a good team." Kaede said, suddenly, "We really balance each other out."

“What do you mean?” he asked.

Kaede stopped walking, facing the setting sun and he stopped beside her. The rays turned her hair gold and her eyes a fiery-blue, “You’re a good person, Saihara-kun. You always know what to say and you think about things before you do them, which is good sometimes. I’m nothing like that, which can also be good sometimes. My mother used to tell me that overthinking can kill someone, but not thinking about consequences can do the same damage.” she looked at him, “So I think we make a good team.”

Shuichi didn’t know what Kaede wanted him to say, so he settled on agreeing, trying not to blush too hard at her compliments, “I agree.”

She broke into a smile, “That didn’t make any sense, huh?” she dropped her gaze to the concrete sidewalk, “Sorry.”

“No, no, no,” Shuichi said quickly, “It made perfect sense, I just--I didn’t know what to say.”

She looked up at him, “Really?”

“Really.”

They shared another silent look and Kaede went to speak again, when she was cut off by the sound of Kokichi’s voice from farther down the path, “Hi, Akamatsu-chan! Hi, Saihara-chan!”

They looked up toward him, both giving nothing but a wave in return.

If Shuichi wanted to ask about  _ -chan  _ he needed to do it now.

"You two are close?"

Kaede looked to him, "Hm?"

"He called you 'Akamatsu-chan'." he loved saying that.

"Oh, you know how Ouma-kun is. He called you -chan too." she was blushing for some reason.

Did she... No. She couldn't.

"Oh. Sorry for assuming."

"It's alright." she took a step on the path again, waiting for Shuichi to follow. They began their walk again.

They walked around the courtyard, passing a fountain spewing water into the bowl below it. Upon first glance, Kaede had seemed her normal cheerful self, but since their conversation, she had begun to look nervous. He wanted to know why.

"Akamatsu-san."  _ -chan  _ "Is something wrong?"

"No I just-- is something wrong with you?"

"What?"

"You've been really quiet."

"Oh." he must have been thinking too hard, "I'm alright. Just thinking."

"What about?" she stopped, gazing at the fountain, "This is a really nice sight."

"Do you want to sit?"

She hesitated, "Yeah."

They sat down on the mouth of the fountain, watching the buildings in the distance swallow the sun.

"What have you been thinking about?"

_ You  _ he wanted to say, but instead went with the easy way out, "This place. It's all really confusing."

"You're right, Saihara..." he prayed, "-kun." she finished. He sighed aloud and she gave him a strange look, "Did I say something wrong?"

"Ah, no. Sorry." he looked away. In the distance, he could see his fellow classmates meandering around. He wondered what they were thinking.

"Would you like to know what I'm thinking?" she asked him, looking up at the sky.

"Sure." he mused

"Are you sure because I have a lot of thoughts." Kaede warned.

"I think I can handle it."

"I'm thinking about how we're all going to get out of here together and become friends and how we're going to start lives and have children and grow old and talk about this memory."

"That's pretty far forward."

"Wait, I'm not done. I have also been thinking about how to get out of here and I've been thinking about what I said this morning in the research room."

Shuichi blinked. What had she been saying...?

"I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable by calling you -chan. I'll never do it again. You didn't let me fully apologize when I did it and I--"

"Stop." Shuichi said. He couldn’t believe this was happening.

Kaede closed her mouth, looking scared.

"I don't want you to not call me that." he said, confidently.

"W...what?"

"I didn't... I don't... It didn’t make me uncomfortable--it was strange, but I’ve actually been thinking about it a lot today. I was hoping you would say it again and--"

Kaede's mouth dropped open, "You... What?"

"That was stupid.” he could feel the blush creeping up his face. He didn’t feel so confident about this anymore, “We're obviously not close enough I--" Shuichi didn't know how to finish. He hung his head, wishing the fountain would swallow him whole.

Kaede took a breath after a moment of silence and spoke, "So you didn’t mind it when..."

"Yeah." they didn't look at each other.

"Alright..." she forced herself to look in his direction, “Saihara-chan.”

His heart skipped a beat.

She gave a nervous laugh, "You know, now that I've said it again, I kind of like it, too. Saihara-chan. Saihara-chan. Saihara--"

"Akamatsu-chan." he interrupted, excited, but he quickly recoiled, "Ah, is that okay?"

"It's great," she beamed, "Saihara-chan."

"It is," he smiled back, "Akamatsu-chan."

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think of this! If you hate it, tell me why! Help me improve as a writer!!


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